Casing for wrist watches



June 5, 1928.

L. PALLlsER CASING FOR WRIST WATCHES Filed April 30, 192-5 ATTORNEY Patented June 5, 1928.

un -r so smart:

LEONARD PALLISEB, OF; NEW YORK, N. Y.

I CQASING. non wnrsrr. WATCHES.

Applieationfiled April 30, Serial No. 26,837.

This invention relates toornamental casings for wrist watches and the like.

In ornamental wrist watches now in vogue the color design forms a rigid infl'exible part of the casing; the color being; inseparable from the other portions of the design and the utility of the ornament being thereby impaired because capable of being worn in harmony with only a limited number of color designs of'costumes.

The object of the invention is an ornamental casing whose basic color design may be readily changed at the will of the wearer to harmonize with the particular costume or other ornaments being worn. To this end I have devised a novel construction of wrist watch casing wherein the color part of the design is separate and distinct from the other parts of the ornamental design and is readily separable from the watch case and a different basic-color design readily inserted with the facility with which one may remove or replace any piece of jewelry. A further object of'the invention is a novel construction of combined watch casing and separable basic color design, whereby the casings with their interchangeable color designs may be economically produced. A further object of the invention is a novel interchangeable color design for Wristwatches. I

For a better understanding. of the 1.nven-.

tion, reference may be had'f to the accompanying drawings torming a part of this application wherein;

Fig. I is a perspective view of a wrist watch with a casing embodying my invention,

Fig. 2' is a perspective view of'the watch casing,

Fig; 3- is a perspectiveview of a removable basic col'or design,

Fig. 4 is a section along the line 4.- t of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a plan view showing my invention as embodied in a casing of a different design, and

Figs. 6 and 7 show modified constructions of casings.

Referring to the drawings wherein like numerals designate similar parts throughout,'I have illustrated in Fig. 1a wrist Watch having a case 1, a dial 2 and a ribbon 3. The casing 1 embodying my invention, may be of any desired design and shape and of any desired material, such'for example as platinum. The watch case 1 is usually pro- .illBCl with an ornamental design in which the basic color design features such as colored stones (sapphires, rubies, emeralds, onyx)" are incorporated as a hired inseparable part of, the casing design, but in accordance-with my invention, the casing and color designs are so constructed and correlated; together that the color part of the design maybe readily'removed by the wearer and" other colors substituted therefor with equal facility-2 For example, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the color backgrounds a forming a .part of the casing design are made in scparable elements which may be readily deta clied from the other parts of the casing desi and other basic colors of the same construction as the detachable parts 4' substituted therefor to. form a design more in harmony with the color of costume than being'worn.

In Figs. 2, 3 and a I have illustrated-a :"pecial correlated construction of wrist watch case, ornamental design and interchangeable color scheme which permits the ready removal and interchange of the basic colors, In the particular embodiment shown the casing includes the lower. part 6 and the upper part Thinged at 8 to permit the opening of" the casing and the insertion of a watch movement therewithin, with the dial within the opening 9; The num ral 10 indicates the usual means for threading the ribbon to the. watch.

The upper part 7 of the divided casing is provided on opposite sides'ot the dial opening 9 with raised borders 11 and 12 forming slight depressions or recesses tor the reception oi the removable and interchangeable color designs 5, the latter being. of a shape and? size corresponding to that outlined by the raised borders. In the particular embodiment herein illustrated the borders 11 and 12 are bridged by an open work design designated 13, but it is understood, as indicated above, that the particular casing design or shape forms no essential part of the invention. These removable and interchangeable basic color designs 5 are carried within the recesses or depressions formed between the raised borders 11 and 12 and immediately below the open bridge work design 13, and according to the preferred man nor of inserting these color designs 5 therewithin, I have provided the end border rims 11 with longitudinal slots 11' on a level and flush with the bottom surface of the recesses whereby the basic color parts 5, which in the preferredembodiment are in the form of slides, may be readily inserted theretliroug'h and into the positionindicated coplanar or parallel with the dial or face of the watch.

These color slides may be retained within the recesses to form the color background of the watch case design in any suitable manner, and I have found that friction is usually sufiicient. to retain them within the border frame against accidentaldisplacements during ordinary wear. Inthe particular embodiment illustrated herein these color parts '5 are in the form of sheets ofany suitable coloredmaterial, such as colored celluloid, colored glass, colored paper, metal, etc., and if desired they may ,be provided With'an outer border 14 which is of greater thickness than the main body 5 and covers the slot 11 in the border 11 when the color design part is in position. This border 14 may be integral with the mainbody 5, or it may be of a different material as for example of metal corresponding to that of the casing. In the particular embodiment shown the border 14; is in the form 'of a very small tube with a slit in one side for receiving and gripping the slide'color part 5. It is also noted that the outside borders 14 of the interchangeable color slides or parts 5 may be provided, if desired, with their ,ends 14 projecting slightly beyond the sides of the main body part and casing to enable thewearer to readily engage the slides to remove them for the purpose of substitutingvothers. The wearer always has on hand an assortment ofcolor' spond to the oval shaped dial opening 9 and preferably being slidable into position in a mannersimilar to the assembly of the parts indicated in Figs. 2 and 4,although it is understood that I am not restricted to any particular construction and manner of interchanging the separable eo-lor'parts from the fixed inseparable portions of the watch de- For example the upper part of the design may be ofa construction such as to permit insertion of the color part 4c, 5, or 5 at right angles to the face of the watch, in which event if an open bridge work l?) provided, it and associated parts could be hinged to one side of the case, permitting of the ready insertion of the color insets. Fig. 6 shows such an arrangement wherein the bridge work is incorporated in a hinged cover plate 15, and recesses 17 serve to re ceive the color insets 16. Fig. 7 is a dia grammatic View showing another arrange inent wherein the upper part of the casing is provided witha coverplate which'is entirely removable and capable of being snapped into closing position with the color design insets 16 reposing thereunder and in the r cesses 17. It is also understood that, while I have illustrated my invention as being incorporated in and applied to an ornainental wrist watch, certain features thereof are applicable to ornamental jewelry generally such as rings, etc, wherein it may be desirable tohave interchangeable basic color designs in the form of slides or plates which are readily separable from the fixed portions of the design. 1

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desireto protect by Letters Pat cut is:

1. A watch case, a slide, and spaced retaining gu des rigidly carried by the case along the longitudinal edges thereof, said LEONARD PALLIsnR. p 

